Are civil damages appropriate redress for torture or do they encourage impunity?

Gwenaelle Dereymaeker presented a paper entitled "When civil damages replace prosecutions for violence committed by law enforcement officials: effective accountability or de facto impunity?" at the Fifth International Conference: National and International Perspectives on Crime Reduction and Criminal Justice, held in Sandton, Johannesburg, on 14 and 15 August 2014.

Gwen presented and analysed data on claims made against the South African Police Service as well as the South African Department of Correctional Services. She argues that there is very little individual accountability, resulting in little or no deterrence and de facto impunity for torture.

Her presentation is available here.